The UCLA Bruins (+9) aren’t traveling far to battle the No. 23 Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium. Kickoff is pretty late for bettors on the East Coast (9:00 p.m. ET) and ESPN is in line to broadcast the action.
Betting Preview: UCLA Bruins at Stanford Cardinal
In this Thursday Pac-12 game, Stanford is getting picked as the big favorite and the team’s currently giving up 9 points. The Bruins are also receiving +280 moneyline odds while the Cardinal are -360. Vegas has placed the over/under (O/U) at 54 points. If the underdog gets out in front early on, it’ll probably create a nice live betting scenario.
The line originally opened at -8 and the game’s total was initially set at 55, so early action has been swaying toward both the Cardinal and the under.
The Bruins have gained 1.0 unit so far and are 2-4 against the spread (ATS). They’ve been a good under bet and have posted an O/U record of 2-4.
The Cardinal have gained 2.6 units this season. The team is 2-4 ATS and has an even O/U record of 3-3.
The Bruins have gone 1-5 straight up (SU), including 1-2 SU against Pac-12 opponents. The Cardinal are 3-3 SU overall and 2-2 SU in conference play.
When these two teams faced each other last year, Stanford knocked off UCLA by a touchdown 49-42.
UCLA enters this one on a two-game winning streak while Stanford has dropped its last two in a row. The Bruins lost to Oregon State 48-31 in a thumping where their defense allowed the Beavers to eat up the clock by running for 163 yards on 32 rush attempts, including two rush TDs. Isaiah Hodgins had a productive day for the opposition in that one with 123 yards and three touchdowns on 10 catches. On the offensive side of the ball, Austin Burton completed 27 passes for 236 yards and one touchdown. Joshua Kelley (74 rushing yards on 21 attempts, one TD) and the signal-caller Burton (64 yards on 15 carries, one TD) led the running attack. Demetric Felton (nine receptions, 55 yards) and Kyle Philips (seven catches, 71 yards, one TD) shared the receiving duties in the defeat.
Stanford is coming off of a 23-13 win over Washington back in Week 6. The defensive unit did its job in the victory, limiting the Huskies to only 206 passing yards and 88 yards on the ground. Aaron Fuller was a bright spot in the loss for Washington, posting 171 yards on nine catches. For Stanford, Davis Mills completed 21-of-30 passes for 293 yards and one touchdown. Cameron Scarlett (151 rushing yards on 33 attempts, one TD) mounted the running game as Michael Wilson (six receptions, 51 yards) and Connor Wedington (four catches, 38 yards) led the pass-catching attack in the win.
UCLA has run the ball on 52.8 percent of its offensive possessions this year while Stanford has an overall rush percentage of 49 percent. The Bruins have produced 142.8 rush yards/game (including 207.7 per game versus Pac-12 opponents) and have seven scores on the ground this year. The Cardinal are logging 124.8 rush yards per game (125.3 in conference) and have three total rushing TDs.
It seems like the Cardinal should hold an advantage along both the offensive and defensive fronts, as their offensive line has given up only 13 sacks while the D-line has logged 14 sacks. The Bruins O-line has allowed 15 sacks and their defense has got to opposing signal-callerss just nine times.
The Bruins offensive scheme has averaged 254.5 yards through the air overall (323.7 per game against conference opposition) and has 12 passing TDs so far. The Cardinal have produced 228.2 pass yards per contest (226 against Pac-12 competition) and have eight total pass scores.
UCLA has allowed opponents to run for an average of 162.7 yards and pass for 340.7 yards per game. The Stanford D has allowed 273.8 yards per game to opposing passers and 119.8 yards per game to opposing runners. The Cardinal are giving up an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of 8.09 to opposing QBs, while the Bruins have allowed a staggering 10.33 ANY/A.
Passing-wise, Burton is up to 236 yards this year. He’s connected on 66 percent of his 41 attempts with one scores through the air and has yet to throw an interception. He has a 5.50 adjusted net yards per pass attempt.
In the other locker room, Davis Mills has managed to complete 53-of-85 passes for 645 yards, two TDs and one INT. Mills’ ANY/A sits at 7.10 for the year and 10.51 over his past two games.
UCLA Bruins at Stanford Cardinal Free NCAA Betting Tip
SU Winner: Stanford, ATS Winner: Stanford, O/U: Over
Team Betting Trends
- The Stanford defense has sacked opposing quarterbacks 14 times this year. UCLA has registered nine sacks.
- The Stanford offense has lost two fumbles in 2019 while the UCLA offense has lost four.
- The Bruins offense has tallied three pass plays of 40 yards or more, while the Cardinal have put up one such play.
- The UCLA defense has allowed seven pass plays of 40 or more yards, while Stanford has given up two such plays.
- The UCLA offense has created five rushing plays of 20 yards or more, while Stanford has created four such runs.
- The Bruins defense has allowed seven rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while the Cardinal have given up six such runs.
- The Over/Under for Stanford’s last match was 51. The under cashed in the 23-13 win over Washington.
- Over its last three games, Stanford is 1-2 ATS and the under cashed in two of those three.
- Over its last three matches, UCLA is 2-1 ATS and the over cashed in two of those three.
- The O/U for UCLA’s previous game was 64. The over cashed in the team’s 48-31 loss to Oregon State.
- UCLA, as a team, has produced 4.9 yards per carry over its past three contests and 5.2 over its last two.
- Stanford has averaged 3.8 yards per carry over its last three matchups and 3.9 over its past two.
